1 in 5 ovarian cancer cases may be genetic

New research has discovered that inherited genetic mutations may be behind one in five cases of ovarian cancer, even if the women affected do not have a family history of the disease.

The study was carried out at Washington University School of Medicine and involved 429 women aged 26 to 89, all of whom had ovarian cancer but did not know of any relatives who had had the same condition.

It was discovered that 20 per cent of the participants had inherited mutations in a gene pathway known to be important in breast and ovarian cancer. In total, the team found 222 inherited genetic variants that increased the risk, some of which had not been associated with the disease before.

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Lead author Li Ding said they may conspire with other genetic changes over a lifetime to make cancer development more likely.

Writing in the journal Nature Communications, she added: 'Our findings could have important implications for developing better screening strategies for ovarian cancer and improving early detection.'

Ovarian cancer has a survival rate of 90 per cent when caught early, but the survival rate can drop to 30 per cent if it progresses without detection.

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